Gay rights
advocates in New York thought same-sex marriage was a done
deal after the Democrats captured a majority in the state
legislature November 4, with Gov. David Paterson
already having said he would sign gay marriage
legislation if it landed on his desk.
A gay marriage
bill has already cleared the state assembly, but the
matter was never put to a vote in the senate, which
previously had a Republican majority. Now that the
Democrats have taken control of the senate, it only
seemed a matter of time before marriage equality was
achieved in the Empire State. But thanks to Albany politics,
that may be wishful thinking, reports Reuters
UK.
Three Democratic
senators refuse to support Malcolm Smith as
senate majority leader without concessions --
specifically, drop same-sex marriage legislation.
One of those
senators, Ruben Diaz, is a Pentecostal minister. "I
will not give my vote to a leader that will bring gay
marriage to the state," Diaz told Reuters. "Have a
voter referendum. Let the people decide."
Some are
optimistic that the squabbling will subside, Smith will be
appointed majority leader, and New York will be the
first state to legalize same-sex marriage through a
state legislature. One reason for that optimism is
that politicians and voters in New York are arguably
less riled by same-sex marriage than those in other states.
One example of that is that none of the Republican
assembly members who voted for same-sex marriage in
2007 were drummed out of office. (Neal Broverman, The
Advocate)
